On that same day, Tou went back home with a bit of light in his eyes. Invigorated. Yes, that was the right word. He hopped to his house with his crutches.
There were lots of worries that had suddenly clouded his conscious in such a short span of time.
Even now, I can admit that trying to strangle her in that manner was the wrong way of going about things… I should've definitely slashed her or used mana.
Right now, he felt like he was on top of the world. He took care of the demon child and the person who tried to kill him. To add onto that, the one who went by the name Cerat was no longer pestering.
Soon, he could return to his 'activities' of art in no time.
The door swung open, with Ailsa and Marcus entering. They held bags of treats, intending to give to the injured boy. Ailsa ran toward him and gave him a hug, which he weakly responded to with him wrapping one arm around her.
"Agh, it's been a while since I've see you, Tou."
"Likewise. How did you do? On the medical examination, or whatever."
Ailsa giggled, patting Tou's back before releasing him. She placed the brown bags of food on the nearest wooden table.
"I did pretty good. So good, that I'm going on to the second round," she said this with a smug, confident smile. Marcus clapped, and Tou smiled as well, as if he felt the same amount of pride that she did.
"Wow. At least one of us in this group is competent," Tou snickered.
"Ailsa, tell him about what you said! How once you become a real deal healer, you'll get rich and take us out of this humble town."
"I never said anything like that! Don't start putting words in my mouth!"
They all laughed.
Next, they engaged in the usual conversation, chatting about the things they had done, while munching on all the sweet snacks they had brought for Tou. However, there was always this invisible veil. No one seemed to want to question what exactly really happened to Tou.
This veil is suffocating..
It's thick, invading. Entering my mouth, and I breathe in the dusty old air that it exudes. The veil covers them just as thickly, maybe even thicker. So how can they appear so normally?
Although I did try to kill myself, it wasn't for that reason. You guys really need to loosen up, damn it.
.
The towns training grounds.
Ailsa annotated.
"The oh-so-great Tou, proficient in multiple elements. He aims at a lost, innocent straw dummy. Preparing, he tightens his gaze, and holds firm. A piercing strike!"
[Cast: Fireball]
Tou held out a wand, one that helped an individual channel their mana much better. From the tip, a thick vicious ball of flames was conceived, shooting toward the straw dummy that was encased in a type of resin.
Psh!
It struck hard. But most importantly, the accuracy was perfect, striking the red dot painted in the center of the dummy.
"It's hard for you to demean me when I'm really that awesome. It's more complimenting than anything," Tou remarked lackadaisically, his wand still pointed at the dummy.
The two of them stood at the training grounds.
"Hmph. Well, I guess that's true. Though, I wonder. What are you training this much for?" she asked.
The question had been on her mind for quite some time, as indicated by the fiddling with the hem of her sleeves, or the pacing back and forth.
"You're getting better with medical magic, Marcus is becoming quite the swordsman. I thought that maybe I could be the attack mage."
"Pfft! You think we're making some kind of party, Tou? It's not like we're subjugating dungeons, or something. Marcus and I, we do it because we want to. I want to be able to heal injured people, and Marcus wants to be able to protect those who need it. What's your purpose for this, Tou?"
My purpose?
It's to kill. What else is mana for?
"To protect my friends…"
Their was hesitation in his words. As it left his mouth, Tou himself felt that he was not lying.
"Hone that, then. Things are much easier to do when you have a purpose."
"…"
"And just like that," she snapped "you'll become stronger than you've ever been."
"I'm strong enough."
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, your strength is only physical."
"When it comes to surviving, that's all you need," Tou concluded. As the last word left his mouth, his hairs again stood on end. A terrible feeling washed over him. In an instant, he grabbed Ailsa.
No way…
Could this be?
[Cast: Molten Grasp]
He held the wand between closed palms. In front of them, hot rocks erected from the ground, effectively shielding them from any damage. It was just as he expected, another arrow was heading toward him.
However, this wasn't a regular arrow. Guided by wind. It curved!
"!"
His eye shot open, seeing the arrow wrapped in intense, rotating gusts. And now, it was heading toward his chest. And Ailsa was positioned right there, at his chest.
So, he threw her into the air. She yelped.
The next set of movements followed in quick succession.
[Cast: Stone Form]
Channeling his man's, his right forearm and above hardened, shifting and discoloring into the stone grey.
He bent his arm, lifting it up. With this, the arrow struck his elbow, the toughest part possible. It did not pierce.
The arrow flew to the side, the wind mana that wrapped around it finally dissipating.
Tou panted.
Ailsa fell back to the ground, landing right into Tou's quickly re-humanized arm.
"Tou, what was that?!" Ailsa yelled. Tou quickly placed her down, a very obvious sweat could now be seen on his face.
"Stray arrow. People are always training around this town," he lied.
If I were to tell her the truth, she would definitely help me. I don't know the strength of these people trying to harm me, so I don't know if I'll be able to save her.
"…" she gave him a suspicious look, before sighing.